Garment hangers



- March 1959 H. PRESSLER GARMENT HANGERS Filed April 18, 1 956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

fla/vy Preeafiei;

March R L GARMENT HANGERS Filed April 18, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'INVENTOR.

1752/7 Preaaler;

2,877,940 GARMENT HANGERS Harry B. Pressler, Chicago, Ill. Application April 18, 1956, Serial No. 578,920 2 Claims. (Cl. 223-88) This invention relates to garment hangers and has for its principal object the provision of a new and improved device of this kind.

It is a main object of the invention to provide a garment hanger which when hung on a support such as a rod is secured thereon against accidental removal, and surreptitious removal therefrom is made more difficult.

Another object of the invention is to provide a garment hanger which though secured on a support against accidental removal therefrom is readily removed by manipulation in a prescribed manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide a garment hanger which locks on a support to prevent accidental removal therefrom and locks when manipulated into open position to permit removal from the support and reengagement therewith.

Another object of the invention is to provide a garment hanger of the foregoing type, which can be manufactured at low cost without sacrificing quality.

Further objects of the invention not specifically mentioned here will be apparent from the detailed description and claims which follow, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown by way of example and in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the preferred form of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the hanger shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of this hanger;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view showing the hanger in an open'position;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of the top of the hanger drawn to an enlarged scale;

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of a modified form of hanger;

Fig. 7 is an end view of the hanger shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of this hanger;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view of the hook assembly drawn to an enlarged scale; and

Fig. 10 is a cross sectional view along the line 10-10 of Fig. 6, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Garment hangers, consisting of a shoulder bar formed either of wire, wood, plastic or other suitable material, and having a hooklike projection extending upwardly from the center of this bar to permit hanging the hanger upon a rod or similar support, are in common use. In certain instances devices of this kind are disadvantageous. For example, in a retail store, such as a dress shop, a plurality of dresses in stock are frequently hung upon hangers of this type that are supported upon the bar of a display rack. It often happens that as one of these garments is being removed from the rack, adjacent hangers are unhooked and the garments thereon permitted to fall to the floor, with the result that these garments become soiled, thereby creating a loss to the establishment.

improvements in hangers of this type, of wh ch 1 United States Patent 0 am aware, have been proposed in the prior art in etfort.

present invention improves upon these prior art devices advantage not found and has additional features of therein.

With an ordinary garment hanger having a simple hook, it is impossible tohang garments on a clothesline for airing, particularly on a windy day, since these hangers readily become unhooked from the line permitting the garments to fall to the ground. In the prior art hangers of which I am aware, there are hangers which can be safely hooked upon a clothesline to support garments thereon for airing; however, these hangers permit the garments to travel along the clothesline and to be-. come bunched together thereon, thereby to defeat the purpose for which the garments are hung on the line. The hanger of the present invention provides as an additional feature an arrangement for locking the hanger to a clothesline in such a manner as to secure the garment thereto and to further secure the apart position upon the line. i

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings where, in Figs. 1 to 5, a preferred form of the invention is shown. The device thus ,shown consists of a shoulder bar 1 formed of wire the ends of which merge into an upwardly extending center section 2. The particular shape of the end sections of the shoulder bar may be varied from that shown, within the teachings of the invention. As shown, the shoulder bar 1 is formed of a single piece of wire the ends of which terminate at the top of the upstanding section 2 and overlap at the center thereof, as indicated at 3 and 4. A sleeve member 5 encircles these ends and is crimped to hold them together and in alignment.

Extending upwardly from this upstanding center section 2 are identical spring members 6 and 7, each of which is equipped with a coil 8 from which the member extends upwardly and then inwardly, as indicated at 9,

into the sleeve 5, to secure the spring members 6 and 7 to the shoulder bar 1. As shown best in Fig. 5, the right hand end of the wire forming the center section 2 and the end 9 of the left end spring member 6 are in alignment within the tube 5, and the left hand end of the Wire 2 and the end 9 of the right hand spring member 7 are likewise in alignment and disposed alongside of the first mentioned ends. Additional crimps in the tube 5 secure the hooks therein.

The members 6 and 7 extend upwardly from the coils 8 at an angle crossing each other at point 10 and extending beyond the cross-over and terminating in books 11 and 12, which hooks open outwardly towards the ends of the shoulder bar 1.

It will be noted that member 6 lies in front of member 7 at the point of cross-over 10 and that the hook 11 on member 6 lies in back of book 12 on member 7, as seen in Fig. 1.

As will be seen best in Fig. 3, the hooks 11 and 12 are disposed at a small angle to the plane of the shoulder bar 1, and the extreme end 13 of the hook 11 is disposed at a greater angle, preferably about 45, with respect to this plane, than is the body portion of the hook. The extreme end 14 of the hook 12 is likewise disposed at a more acute angle than is the remainder of the hook.

Located upon the adjacent faces of the hooks 6 and 7 are teeth 15, and located between these teeth 15 and the coils 8 are finger holds 16.

As will be seen best in Figs. 2 and 3, the coils 8 con tain about one and one-half convolutions of the wire,

garments in spaced 7 3 sides of the wire forming the shoulder 'bar 1, as indicated at 17.

With the garment hanger thus formed, and with the hook members 11 and 12 positioned as shown in full lines in Fig. 1, when it is desired to place the hanger over a support such as a rod or clothesline 18, finger holds 16 are engaged and the spring members 6 and 7 forced inwardly into the position in which they are shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

With the hooks thus positioned, teeth 15 on the spring member 6 engage the teeth 15 on the spring member 7 to lock the hanger in open position. It will be noted that with the hook members 6 and 7 in this position, there is a space between the ends 13 and 14 of the hooks, permitting the hanger to be registered with a rod such as 18. The spring members 6 and 7 are then released either by elevating the hanger to cause the rod 18 to open the members 6 and 7 sufiiciently to disengage the teeth 15 thereon or by moving the rod 7 away from the rod 6 to accomplish the same purpose. The spring action of the members 6 and 7 cause them to assume the full line position shown in Fig. 1, thereby to lock the hanger around the support 18.

With the hanger thus secured on the rod, accidental removal of the hanger therefrom is avoided. When it is desired to remove the hanger and garment from the rod, sleeve 5 is grasped and the hanger moved upwardly, causing the inclined surfaces of the members 6 and 7 to ride over the rod 18 and thereby force the hooks 11 and 12 apart sufiiciently to engage the teeth on the one member with the teeth on the other member. The hanger and garment may then be removed from the rod. Since each member contains a plurality of teeth 15, the width of the opening can be varied to permit use of the hanger with rods of various diameters.

Since the hook portions 11 and 12 of the members 6 and 7 are inclined with respect to the plane of the shoulder bar 1, and since the end portions 13 and 14 of these hooks are further inclined with respect to this plane, when the members 6 and 7 are released and permitted to spring from the dotted to the full line position shown in Fig. 1, the ends 13 and 14 of the hooks engage together, thereby to guide the hooks into the position shown best in Fig. 3, in which position the teeth 15 on the members are on the adjacent sides thereof, thereby to insure their engagement together when the hooks are again spread apart.

Sleeve 5 and the engagement of the ends 9 of the spring members 6 and 7 therewith form a hinge which permits swinging these members out of the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3 into the position shown in Fig. 4. To accomplish this, coils 8 are pushed outwardly from the center line of the hanger thereby to disengage them from the wire 1, permitting the members 6 and 7 to be swung into the position shown in Fig. 4. When it is desired to lock the hanger upon a cl'othesline, thereby to secure the hanger and its contents in position thereon, the membets 6 and 7 are swung into the position shown in Fig 4 and the clothesline placed between the members 6 and 7 and the upstanding section 2. Rotating the members 6 and 7 in a reverse direction and reengaging the coils 8 with the wire 1 bends the line 20 between the members 6 and 7 and the upstanding section 2, thereby to lock the hanger to the line sufficiently tightly to prevent movement of the hanger therealong.

It will be noted that the members 6 and 7 are of identical construction and are mounted upon the shoulder bar with one in reverse position with respect to the other.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, the shoulder bar is composed of wire. The invention may equally well be employed in connection with a shoulder bar formed of wood, plastic, or other rigid material. This embodiment is shown in Figs. 6' to 10, in the drawing. The shoulder bar 30 is of usual shape and construction and is equipped with a rod 31 in the usual manner. Upstanding at the center of the shoulder bar 30 is a central section 32. In the example shown, section 32 is integral with the bar 30; however, forming the section 32 as a separate member that is fixed upon the bar 30 is contemplated. Section 32 contains a groove 33 in which the end portions 34 of the hook members 35 and 36 are disposed.

Within the groove 33 is a sleeve 37 into which the ends 34 of the hook members 35 and 36 extend and are secured as by crimping. At its center, sleeve 37 is flattened and pierced to receive a pin 38 that extends through the upstanding section 32, thereby to secure the sleeve and hook members against movement longitudinally of the groove.

Hook members 35 and 36 are identical with hook members 6 and 7, extending from end portions 34 through coils 40, thence upwardly through finger holds 41, teeth 42, to the point of cross-over 43. Member 35 terminates in a hook 44 and member 36 in a hook 45, books 44 and 45 being identical with hooks 11 and 12 previously described in detail.

At the ends of the upstanding section 32, the shoulder bar 30 is provided with indentations or grooves 46 into.

which coils 40 extend, thereby to secure hooks 35 and 36 against rotation around the axis of sleeve 37. When it is desired to lock the hanger upon a clothesline, coils 40 are sprung outwardly from grooves 46 permitting members 35 and 36 to be rotated around the axis of sleeve 37 sufficiently to permit hooking the hanger over the clothesline. Rotation of members 35 and 36 in a reverse direction and re-engagement of the coils 40 with the grooves 46 will bind the clothesline between the section 32 and the end portions 34 of the hook members.

The operation of the hook members 35 and 36 'to engage them with and disengage them from a support bar is the same as that of members 6 and 7, heretofore It will be noted that the upper edge of the,

explained. section 32 contains bevels 48 over which members 35 and 36 ride as they are moved into position to engage teeth 42 on one with teeth 42 on the other member.

Pins 39 are embedded in the structure 32 and extend across the groove 33 therein and above the portions 34 of the spring members to secure those members in the structure.

While I have chosen to illustrate my invention by showing and describing a preferred embodiment of it, I have done so by way of example only as there are many modifications and adaptations which can be made by one skilled in the art within the teachings of the invention.

Having thus complied with the statutes and shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, what I consider new and desire to have protected by Letters Patent is pointed out in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A garment hanger comprising a shoulder bar, a

slant with respect to each other, cross each other and terminate in outwardly opening hooks which overlap and form a loop adapted to embrace a support to hang the hanger thereon, an end of one of said spring members being aligned with and abutted against one of the ends of the bar and an end of the other of said spring members being aligned with and abutted against the other end of the bar; and a sleeve encircling the ends of the bar and the ends of the spring members to hold the assembly together.

2. A garment hanger as specified in claim 1, in which T the sleeve forms a hinge permitting the'spring'members to swing out of the plane of the shoulder bar and in which the portions of the shoulder bar adjacent the ends of the upstanding center section extend between the con, volutions of the coils of the spring members to hold those members fixed with respect to the shoulder bar.

6 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Kendis Aug. 20, 1929 Shrack July 1, 1930 Boone May 24, I932 Fortner Ian. 7, 1947 Lundman Dec. 9, 1952 

